Eight years after sandpapergate, explosive new claims by Usman Khawaja have reopened old wounds and raised fresh questions about who knew what during Australian cricket's biggest scandal.
Fresh accusations have been thrown this week, raising more questions about who was accountable and whether the sport's governing bodies did their due diligence.
A Cricket Australia investigation found Cameron Bancroft, Steve Smith and David Warner were involved in the ball-tampering incident during a Test match against South Africa in 2018. The trio were subsequently suspended and fined.
The scandal resurfaced this week after Khawaja, who retired from international cricket in January, claimed in his new autobiography, Sabr, that the entire team knew about the ball tampering and that it had also occurred in an earlier match.
The allegations contradict Cricket Australia's findings, as well other players who have always denied knowing about the tampering.
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Mitchell Starc became the first current player to deny the allegations saying his recollection hadn't changed over time and him and his fellow bowlers knew nothing about the sandpaper use until it was caught out.
Warner has backed Khawaja, naming his claims as "100 per cent accurate" and labelled Cricket Australia's investigation as "rushed and botched".
Cricket Australia said it stood by its findings, with chief executive Todd Greenberg saying on Tuesday it would not reopen the investigation.
Khawaja has faced criticism over the timing of his allegations, which coincide with the release of his book.
However the claims have renewed debate about whether Australian cricket has fully confronted the fallout from the scandal.
During Australia's third Test against South Africa in Cape Town in March 2018, Bancroft was caught using sandpaper to roughen one side of the ball to make it reverse swing and assist Australia's bowlers.
The public backlash was swift and widespread, with then prime minister Malcolm Turnbull describing the conduct as a "disgrace" and a "bitter blow to the pride of our country".
Cricket Australia banned Smith and Warner from playing for a year, with Bancroft banned for nine months. Warner was barred from ever being considered for a leadership position in Australian cricket. The trio was fined by the International Cricket Council, which also suspended Smith for one game.
Images of Smith breaking down in tears at a press conference made headlines around the world and the scandal prompted a wider reckoning within Australian cricketing culture.
Sport and controversy are rarely far apart, but Western Sydney University sociologist David Rowe says Australia's cultural connection to cricket made sandpapergate different.
"Cricket does have this … cultural status. It's kind of old school, gentlemanly," he told SBS News.
"Australia got caught, but it was a humiliation because it is traditionally the national game."
Rowe believes the public response was disproportionate to the offence, noting ball tampering was widespread and not unique to Australia. He pointed to a 1994 incident involving former England captain Michael Atherton who took dirt from his pocket and rubbed it onto the ball to alter its condition during a Test against South Africa. Atherton was fined £2,000 but retained the captaincy and avoided suspension.
"It was a massive overreaction [Australian public response] ... fuelled partly by a sense of shame," he said.
Cricket Australia's investigation found the incident was a one-off, and only Bancroft, Warner and Smith were involved.
But questions have persisted about other players' knowledge, with some believing the trio were used as scapegoats.
In 2021, Bancroft hinted bowlers knew about the sandpaper use, saying it was "pretty probably self-explanatory" given that altering the ball was meant to help the bowling attack.
That prompted current captain Pat Cummins and his fellow bowlers Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon to distance themselves from the scandal, saying in a statement they had no knowledge "of a foreign substance" being taken onto the field.
Khawaja has not explicitly alleged that those players knew sandpaper was being used but claimed the entire team was aware.
"It was all of us," Khawaja told Nine newspapers this week.
"Not the batters, not the bowlers, not the staff. All of us.
"I don't want to be the one who comes out and talks about the truth.
"The issue is that I genuinely thought after eight years the truth would have been out by now."
Khawaja said he spoke passionately in the change rooms after the 2018 match for the team to take collective responsibility, rather than blaming Warner, Smith and Bancroft.
"Obviously, it didn't work that way and those three guys got crucified," he said.
Cricket Australia has defended its investigation findings.
"There has been a great deal of speculation in the eight years since the 2018 Cape Town Test, including extensive media coverage throughout last month's series in South Africa," a spokesperson said in a statement at the weekend.
"During this time there has been the ongoing opportunity to present any relevant information and this remains the case.
"All relevant information presented to CA to date has been properly considered and we remain comfortable with the findings of our integrity process."
At the time of sandpapergate, Rowe noted the Australian team had developed a reputation for aggressive sledging and a win-at-all-costs mentality, making it unpopular among rival teams and their supporters.
An independent review commissioned after the scandal found Cricket Australia was "arrogant" and "controlling", with the team's culture partly to blame for the ball tampering.
"The ball-tampering incident at the Newlands Ground in South Africa can be seen as an aberration," it said.
"However, to think this would be mistaken. We have seen evidence that the structures built around elite cricket are oriented to winning, without properly counting the cost."
Since then, the team's image has arguably softened under the captaincy of Pat Cummins, who exhibits a calm and respectful leadership style.
Cummins last month distanced himself again from the scandal, saying it was a "long time ago".
"[I've] answered every question a million times so it was dealt with then ... all I can say is, as a group, we've moved on," he said.
On Tuesday, Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg all but ruled out reopening an inquiry.
"We don't see any compelling reason to open the investigation or revisit this again. I don't think there's anything that can be gained from that," he told SEN radio.
"We have said we're comfortable with the outcome of the investigation based on the information we've received.
"That includes what we've seen from Usman, and our position hasn't changed on that."
"To essentially put up the drawbridge in the middle of this public controversy, I think is an an ill-advised approach to take," he said.
University of Sydney senior sports lecturer Dr Steve Georgakis said it would be difficult for the side to move on until there was full transparency about the allegations.
"Trust is an important thing, a connection that we have with these athletes is that they'll go out and do the right thing, and there's transparency and there's openness and there's no cover-ups," he told SBS News.
"Cricket Australia and the players need to tell us the truth, and from there we can move on."
— With additional reporting by Australian Associated Press
